


Not Your Time

by ditto_licious1



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Banter, Crack, M/M, Sorry Not Sorry, author doesn't know jack about monster lore ingame, cloud dissing seohiroth's clothes, heavy bleeding, hurt Cloud, i did a 2 min google search
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 12:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18872992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ditto_licious1/pseuds/ditto_licious1
Summary: Cloud has come to term with his inevitable death by Masamune a long time ago, so why won't this green-eyed asshole stab him already??





	Not Your Time

**Author's Note:**

> idk i just wanted to write a hurt!cloud
> 
> tell me if i got anything wrong

To say that Cloud was an unlucky person was an understatement. 

After an abrupt run in with a loose Bahamut while having an afternoon joy ride on Fenrir just outside of Edge, and on top of that, being separated from his bike, you could say this day was definitely in the runner up for the top three worst days of his life. 

After he somehow managed to escape the creature with only two to three impalations, Cloud had to hide out in a concrete ruine to catch his breath. He had to figure out what he needed to do next. Should he look for his bike and hope the monster had moved on? Or just make his way back to Edge. The lot of his materia was in his bike, so healing himself was a bust. And the trek back home was at least a few hours, maybe half a day. What are the chances of not not running in into monsters on the road back… nonexistent at worst, and slim at best. 

His PHS was on his bike so calling for help was also a no-go, not that he’d ever want to make that phone call, but desperate times- and so on.

His best chances was to wait for his Jenova Cells in his body to heal themselves. Then go home and come back better prepared to face a Bahamut.

He slumped against the dirty wall, and zoned out for what felt like hours, but was probably just minutes given the still bleeding state of his body.

“Hello, Cloud.” Said a dreadfully familiar voice. A voice that has occupied his nightmares for the past years.

Cloud quickly stood and frantically looked around in search for the owner of the voice. His eyes finally landed on the siluett shadowed by the light coming from the setting sun. His hair, as always was flowing freely behind his back, making it look like a wing. Cloud could see the ever present condescending smirk on his face, and the green cat-like eyes closely monitoring Cloud’s every move.

Either he had lost so much blood that he was hallucinating his worst enemy standing menacingly a few feet away from him or… or this might be his last day on Gaia. 

Cloud stood frozen by the image of the other man coldly smiling at him. He needed to move. He couldn’t take the risk that it was a hallucination. On the off chance it wasn’t he’d really be dead if he didn’t act by the next three seconds. 

Just as the thought entered his mind, and his hand holding the buster sword twitched up, Masamune hit him across his shoulder, sending him tumbling backwards with the force of the slash. He luckily just managed to dodge out of the way before the sword hit something fatal.

He grunted as he’s back hit a wall with a hard crash. His stab wounds from earlier opening up and starting to bleed uncontrollably, coupled with his newly acquired slash, he was covered in a nice rustic red almost from head to toe. The metallic smell assaulted his mind and crept into his nostrils and mouth making him vividly taste the iron in his blood.

“You have the worst timing.” He growled at the taller man as he met him headlong, their swords sending out sparks as they met in a loud clash. 

Sephiroth responded with a perfect turn of his lips.

They exchanged blow after blow, going at it for minutes, before Sephiroth slowly but surely managed to get the upper hand. A few cuts were made on Cloud’s arms and legs, but his midriff got the worst of the damage. Cutting up the already pre-existing wounds and generously making new ones.

Had he already not lost so much blood he’d focus some of his energy at healing up the bigger wounds. But Sephiroth never gave him an inch to maneuver. Repeatedly hitting his Buster sword with so much force Cloud wondered if maybe metal can catch fire after all? He felt the vibrations of the clashes travel up his arms, weakening the grip he had on the hilt.

“Is this what you’ve been reduced to without me, Cloud?” He purred at him through their locked swords.

Cloud resisted a quip, he needed his full attention on the fight happening lest he ends up with Masamune through his chest for a second time.

They traded a few more blows before Cloud finally understood the severity of his situation. He might actually die here today.

Masamune collided with the Buster once more, this time sliding past the blade and piercing Cloud’s unprotected arm. He grunted in pain and lost his concentration for a second before focusing back on the the sinister man in front of him. But apparently one second was all Sephiroth needed. Next thing Cloud knew he was sent flying through walls of concrete before finally coming to a stop at wall three. His Buster sword flew out of his hand and skidded to a stop a few feet away. Cloud couldn’t exactly pinpoint where, seeing as he was to busy bleeding out.

The ex-general of Soldier walked a brisk pace through the Cloud-shaped holes in the walls. He stood smugly in front of his collapsed body. Cloud tried to move his bloodied hand but it only twitched in response. His body didn’t want to obey him at all. He only just managed to lift his head up to peer at the other man.

The silver haired man’s smirk faltered as he tilted his head up and regarded the the man on the floor with a disdainful expression.

“Get up.” He commanded firmly.

Cloud, after a few more seconds, finally managed to lift himself up from the dirty concrete ground. One hand supporting his blood-spewing stomach and the other clenched into a tight fist at his side. He stumbled down again twice before he let himself caught up the blood that had been accumulating in his throat. The blood trailed down his chin and splattered as it hit the ground. 

I need to stand up. Stand up. Stand up, dammit.

Cloud was too busy cursing himself out in his head and trying to regulate his heavy breathing, to notice Sephiroth stepping closer to him. 

“Get up.” His voice was now laced with anger, and Cloud’s thoughts suddenly fell on whether he would truly live through his confrontation with the silver haired maniac or not. Probably not. He was losing too much blood to even be able to see clearly. Whilst Sephiroth was standing over him like his very own personal grim reaper. There was no way in hell he’d ever get out of this fight alive. In fact, Cloud is surprised he’d been able to survive thus far.

He managed to get on his knees, and he tilted his head up to look at the tall man. He’d at least want to look the bastard in the eyes when he’ll run him through with Masamune. 

“Stand. Up.” Cloud wanted to ask Sephiroth who the hell he thought he was to try and order him around, but instead only managed a hoarse ‘fuck you’ before he tried to cough up his lungs again.

Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed in indignation. Which Cloud, of course, took pride in. Fuck it. If this was his last minutes alive, he’d rather get a few things off his chest before he succumbs to the inevitable darkness. 

He wobbled up to his feet, shifting slightly while trying to find his balance. For one horrifying moment he thought he would fall onto Sephiroth’s chest, but somehow managed to gather enough strength to keep him on his feet. 

“Pick it up.” Sephiroth said, his umbarbly smug smirk back on his face, as he pointed towards Cloud’s discarded sword laying a few feet away.

Cloud just huffed a laugh. In the end, all he’d ever be was a plaything. A puppet.

“...You’re _such_ a dick.” He croaked while observing the other man’s face. He only got a slight eyebrow twitch in response. And could looks kill, the glare he got from Sephiroth would undoubtedly _melt_ him. The satisfaction from seeing the other man’s irritation revitalised him. Yes, there was no way he was dying at this man’s hands without getting a few insults inn first.

“This is it then, this is how you plan on dying, Cloud?” His smirk widened as his eyes twinkled in keen observation. “Covered in filth and blood, cursing at anyone willing to listen? How befitting.” He drawled, his contempt shown visibly on his face.

Normally, Cloud would growl at the insult, and branish his sword at the other man’s closest body part, but he had made peace with his death, long before this fight even started. 

“Not anyone, just you.” His mouth twitched into a slight smile. The whole situation was comical. Cloud was so vulnerable and prone to stabbing, yet they were standing here chatting at each other. It might be the bloodloss speaking, but Cloud suddenly found the scenario hilarious. He let out a huff of laughter, then another one and another, til he was practically giggling in the face of the most feared person on Gaia. It was definitely the bloodloss talking. 

“What is it that you find so funny.” The older man almost snarled, the sound low and threatening. Really, his voice was probably the best thing of the other man’s. That, and his hair… and eyes. Also his face. Still the bloodloss talking. But Cloud allowed himself that, seeing as it would be the last thing he’d do.

He must have blacked out for a split second whilst staring at the other man’s face, because before he knew it Sephiroth had taken another step towards him, going for menacing as he loomed over Cloud, but somehow only managed to land on ‘annoying’.

So he put a weak and bloodied hand on the other man’s chest to keep him from taking another step closer. It worked spectacularly. The silver haired man stood frozen in place, not moving forward, but neither was he moving backwards. No matter how hard Cloud pushed him back, not that Cloud could even properly manage to lift his buster sword at this point.

Cloud took even more pleasure in seeing his blood being inadvertently wiped off on the taller man’s pale chest. The pristine look never suited a soldier anyway.

“It’s a fashion statement isn’t it?” He snorted in the other man’s face. He fully expected to lose his arm at his earlier stunt, but seeing his ‘lucky’ streak continue, he decided on trying to find Sephiroth’s breaking point (or, rather, killing point in this case). “Your coat.” He clarified after seeing a flicker of confusion in the man’s eyes. “Don’t look at my clothes like that, at least my shirt covers my whole chest.”

Sephiroth’s face thigned, “I never took you for a prude, Cloud.”

“Rather than prude I’m thinking practicality. I mean, looking away from the coat, even your pants are leather. That can't be comfortable.”

“Enough talking. Pick up your sword.”

Cloud could feel himself wobble, but managed to lock his joints before he’d fall. Another bout of blood made its way up his throat, and for a moment Cloud was sure he would die of asphyxiation rather than the business end of a sword. Which, after the moment of breathlessness passed, confused him as to why that would be the worse way of the two to go.

“Nah, I’m done.” He said between coughs, “Everytime I kill you, you keep coming back… I’m getting tired of fighting.” His sigh was long winded. “I quit.”

Sephiroth made an aborted sound before he furrowed his brows. “You can’t quit.”

“Well, I just did.”

The silver haired man stepped away from him, and for a moment Cloud pondered if he would really just leave him here to bleed out. Somehow the thought brought a bitter taste to his mouth, or maybe that was the blood.

He was about to throw a last insult at the man’s retreating back, before Sephiroth turned around to him, this time with the Buster sword in his hand. 

“Take it.” He said as he pushed the hilt towards him.

Cloud scoffed affronted. “No. I just said I quit.” This situation is starting to border on ridiculous.

Sephiroth went for his hand dangling at his side, which made Cloud flinched back, but he reacted to slowly. The silver haired man had an iron grip around his wrist, making his hand unclench in pain. He lead his open palm to the hilt of his Buster sword and urged his fingers around it.

“Stop it.” Cloud demanded, trying his best not to sound petulant, but falling halfway short. Even if he managed to hold the sword, there was no way he’d be able to swing it around, not with half his blood currently pooling on the ground. The hilt was let go and the Buster sword clattered to the ground. He resisted a winch at the sound, and muttered a half hearted apology to the sword in his mind.

“You’re willing to give up your life because of a few stab wounds.” His voice had the half-amused leer as always, except now it was with a mix of befuddlement.

“You’re one to talk. The one actually killing me.” He managed to grunt out, while ignoring the slight tremble of his knees. He really wished Sephiroth would get it over with so that he’d at least die while standing upright. 

“And I have done much worse to you prior, yet you never seemed to adopt these suicidal tendencies.” He tilted his head, observing the now visibly quivering Cloud.

“Yeah, well, apparently you’re not the only one that wants me dead.” He clumsily pointed at the blood currently leaking out of his chest like some sort of grotesque fountain. 

“...Who?” 

“Huh?” 

“Who did it?” Sephiroth’s face twitched to unconcealed condescension, or maybe it was disgust. It couldn’t be anger like he initially thought. That’s impossible.

“It doesn’t matter.” Because no way in hell was he admitting to being done in by a loose Bahamut. “...You really have the worst timing.” 

He felt his knees buckle under his wight. He supposed he could settle on being conscious and laying down before getting stabbed to death. There was no way he was going to be killed while comatose.

Cloud angled his body backwards, hoping he wouldn’t hit his head on the concrete wall behind him and crack it open. That would be… anticlimactic. 

But his decent down was swifty stopped by hard grip on his upper arm. Cloud refocused his eyes. This was it. It was finally happening. 

Instead of the shrap tear he had become oh-so familiar with, came a hard, warm wall. Cloud blinked groggily, just able to blink away the black spots in his vision a few seconds at a time. He stirred his head, rubbing his cheek on the inviting warmth of it to feel it up. It was nice, he could finally relax his body and lean his wight into the enticing heat. His content sigh froze halfway out his mouth before he remembered what exactly stood in front of him a few seconds ago. 

The tension came rushing back into his body at top speed. And hadn't he already lost too much of his blood, no doubt it would rush out of his face and leave him pale. He tried stepping back. Tried lifting his arms up and pushing away at the other’s chest. But the hand around his upper arm was resilient, and the body in front of him was unwavering. 

Cloud fell quiet once more, unable to even move his head to look up at the face of the other man, he therefor settled on a muffled, “Sephiroth,”

He only got silence in return, which made Cloud wonder if this event even was real. Maybe he fell unconscious a long time ago and this all was a very vivid dream. Maybe he currently was lying just outside of Edge, after a disastrous meetup with the Bahamut. 

That would certainly make more sense than what was currently happening. 

He forced himself to relax back into the grip. Whatever _were_ happening, he’d probably end up dead anyway.

“This is so bizarre.” Cloud rasped as he closed his eyes. No longer having the fortitude to keep them open. He felt a cold hand run through his hair, the movement making him relax even further as his thoughts went to a kind smile and warm home in the middle of a cold mountain. “...feels nice, though…”

The movement stopped and Cloud almost whimpered at the loss. Luckily it promptly started again, this time rubbing deeper into his scalp. He’s pretty sure he groaned in satisfaction. It really did feel nice. Cloud hadn’t been touched in a while. 

He distantly realized someone was maneuvering his limp body around. And suddenly he felt his feet lifted off the ground. This is what it feels like to die? How completely underwhelming. Well, at least it was warm.

Cloud welcomed the darkness that soon followed. 

\----------

Cloud woke up in the middle of a green field. 

“Aerith?” He squinted his eyes at the bright light harsly hitting his face. “Zack?” He waited for a moment, before running his hands over his face, massaging his throbbing temples in the process.

The afterlife really sounded like the side of a busy street.

He blinked a few more times, his eyes finally adusing to the strong sunlight. As he looked around the first thing he managed to focus on was his Buster sword stabbed into the earth next to him, reflecting his worn face and dirty clothes. The next was the highway running overhead at the side of the field, the sounds of traffic prominent. The third thing he noticed was that he recognized the location. 

He was currently seated in the newly sprouted field of green grass just outside of Edge. 

He was alive? 

Cloud frantically searched himself for bleeding wounds (or maybe a katana sticking out of his chest,) but found nothing. No wounds, no katana.

Had it all really been a very graphic hallucination? 

But looking down at his thoroughly bloodstained clothes he knew it couldn't be right. 

He sat in the field for a few hours, going over the event in his mind, and waiting to wake up from yet another dream. 

But after a while, he decided to head home, it’d only be an hour of walking at most, and with his wounds all but… healed… the road wouldn’t be too difficult.

He picked up his sword and put it in the harness on his back before taking the first steps back home.

“What the hell are you playing at Sephiroth…?”

**Author's Note:**

> i kno some of u are waiting on the update of my other seph/cloud fic, i'll try finishing the next chapter by the end of this week ;__;


End file.
